Lieutenant Governor of Washington facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lieutenant Governor of Washington
Seal of the lieutenant governor
Incumbent Denny Heck since January 13, 2021
Style	The Honorable
Term length	4 years, no term limits
Inaugural holder	Charles E. Laughton
Formation	November 11, 1889
Succession	First
Salary	$131,687

The lieutenant governor of Washington is an important elected leader in the U.S. state of Washington. This person helps run the state government. The current lieutenant governor is Denny Heck, who is a Democrat. He started his job in January 2021.

What Does a Lieutenant Governor Do?

The lieutenant governor has several key jobs. They lead the Washington State Senate, which is where state laws are made. They are like the president of the Senate. They also step in as acting governor if the main governor is out of the state or cannot do their job. If the governor's office becomes empty, the lieutenant governor takes over as governor.

History of the Lieutenant Governor Role

The office of lieutenant governor was created when Washington became a state in 1889. Since then, 17 different people have held this position. Three of these lieutenant governors later became the main governor of Washington. Before Washington became a state, there were "territorial secretaries of state." They helped the territorial governor, but they could not become governor themselves.

List of Washington's Lieutenant Governors

This list shows all the people who have served as lieutenant governor in Washington. You can see when they started and left office, and which political party they belonged to.

Parties

      Democratic (5)       Populist (1)       Republican (11)

#	Lieutenant governor			Took office	Left office	Governor(s) served under	Party	Notes
1			Charles Laughton	November 11, 1889	January 11, 1893	Elisha Peyre Ferry	Republican
2			F. H. Luce	January 11, 1893	January 13, 1897	John McGraw	Republican
3			Thurston Daniels	January 13, 1897	January 16, 1901	John Rankin Rogers	Populist
4			Henry McBride	January 16, 1901	December 26, 1901	John Rankin Rogers	Republican	Became governor when Governor Rogers passed away.
Vacant (December 26, 1901 – January 11, 1905)
5			Charles E. Coon	January 11, 1905	January 13, 1909	Albert E. Mead	Republican
6			Marion E. Hay	January 27, 1909	March 28, 1909	Samuel G. Cosgrove	Republican	Became governor when Governor Cosgrove passed away.
Vacant (March 28, 1909 – January 15, 1913)
7			Louis Folwell Hart	January 15, 1913	February 13, 1919	Ernest Lister	Republican	Became governor when Governor Lister resigned.
Vacant (February 13, 1919 – January 12, 1921)
8			William J. Coyle	January 12, 1921	January 14, 1925	Louis Folwell Hart	Republican
9			W. Lon Johnson	January 14, 1925	January 16, 1929	Roland H. Hartley	Republican
10			John Arthur Gellatly	January 16, 1929	January 11, 1933	Roland H. Hartley	Republican
11			Victor A. Meyers	January 11, 1933	January 14, 1953	Clarence D. Martin (Democratic) Arthur B. Langlie (Republican) Monrad C. Wallgren (Democratic) Arthur B. Langlie (Republican)	Democratic
12			Emmett Anderson	January 14, 1953	January 16, 1957	Arthur B. Langlie	Republican
13			John A. Cherberg	January 16, 1957	January 11, 1989	Albert Rosellini (Democratic) Daniel J. Evans (Republican) Dixy Lee Ray (Democratic) John Spellman (Republican) Booth Gardner (Democratic)	Democratic
14			Joel Pritchard	January 11, 1989	January 15, 1997	Booth Gardner (Democratic) Mike Lowry (Democratic)	Republican
15			Brad Owen	January 15, 1997	January 11, 2017	Gary Locke Christine Gregoire Jay Inslee	Democratic
16			Cyrus Habib	January 11, 2017	January 13, 2021	Jay Inslee	Democratic
17			Denny Heck	January 13, 2021	present	Jay Inslee Bob Ferguson	Democratic